Brisbane stand by coaching call regardless of results

Brisbane Broncos chairman Dennis Watt says the club will stand by its decision to sack coach Anthony Griffin no matter what transpires in the NRL finals, which begin on Friday night.

Wayne Bennett's Knights may be out the running but the coaching great will be keeping a very close watch on Brisbane's elimination semi-final against the Cowboys on Saturday night.

Outgoing Broncos coach Anthony Griffin.

It could well be the final game of Griffin's four-year tenure before Bennett resumes his innings at Red Hill from next season. But Griffin has been battling on like a seasoned stayer for weeks now and his Broncos may not be done with yet.

The Cowboys will start deserved favourites in Townsville. They head into the finals on the back of 10 consecutive home wins and the kind of form that stamps them as genuine grand final candidates.

Wayne Bennett celebrates the 2006 premiership with Kevin Walters.

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But Brisbane's preparations are being completed amid an atmosphere of quiet confidence from players, officials and senior executives, who believe their fateful entrance into the top eight may have opened the door for an upset.

Sam Thaiday returns from suspension, while players like Ben Hunt have been publicly backed by old boys like Steve Renouf to have career nights against top-flight opposition.

But even if the Broncos do manage to knock over some of the more fancied sides in the finals, Watt said the board wouldn't shift from its decision to let Griffin go and return to Bennett, who collected six premierships during his Brisbane career.

"Absolutely. It was based on where we were at and results. There's no turning back," Watt said.

"We've been able to handle what is a massive event in the life of any club. And here we are in the finals, we've finally had a little bit of luck, and we're a chance.

"We've got a young, emerging side that is just finding its feet. Sam Thaiday is back and he always produces. We think we're a good show. They'll be up for this challenge and equal to it."

Griffin has been a measure of composure since he was tapped on the shoulder and the players may have responded to his stoic reaction, clinging on until a gap finally opened to see them scrape into the eight.

The Cowboys were in a similar boat last season, when they headed into the finals under the guidance of Neil Henry, who had already been told his services would not be required next season. They lost in the first week in a controversial defeat at the hands of the Sharks.

And if Brisbane's powerbrokers aren't concerned about the prospect of feasting on humble pie, the players are even less worried about the appointment of Ben Cummins as referee.

The last time Brisbane saw Cummins was in round 25, when he sin-binned Matt Gillett for being offside in one of the strangest decisions of the season.

Brisbane veteran Justin Hodges said he had no issues with the refereeing appointments, possibly going on the theory that lightning can't strike twice, although the Cowboys - handed shockers in their past two finals campaigns - might disagree.

"It's water under the bridge now," Hodges said. "At the time it was a call he made that he thought was right but in saying that we got away with the win.

"We can't be relying on refs' decisions, we need to go out there and have the game's result in our hands."

Injured Bronco Josh Hoffman (ankle) shapes as a possible late inclusion, which could see Hodges move back to the centres are a successful stint at fullback.